Potted Plants
by FrozenOrange
Summary: Different circumstances has Chat landing on the same balcony more than once. Just his luck that the balcony happened to belong to one tiny girl with fire in her heart. (No Ladybug AU)
1. (Don't) Leaf My Balcony Alone

Chat Noir softly landed on a balcony, tail flicking out to maintain his balance.

Unfortunately for him, he had chosen a balcony with many, many potted plants. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't as surefooted as he would've liked to have been. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't seen the girl, who was thoroughly wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket, dozing in lounge chair.

The minute he fell over a pot of flowers, she shot up, eyes wide with a mixture of alert terror and hazy sleep. Chat held his hand up in a placating gesture.

In the dark, even with his vision, he could just see a mess of dark hair and a small nose.

She blinked. It was dark out, so he wasn't even sure if she saw him at all. But then, she grabbed a spray bottle that had been sitting innocently next to the chair, and chucked in his direction. It him in the forehead.

"Fuck!" He cursed as he stumbled back slightly, surprised by the strength in her throw.

Apparently, she hadn't been expecting anyone to actually be there, as she yelped and tried to scramble back. The tangles of the blanket caught on the edge of the lounge and she flailed off.

"Oof!"

Chat rushed over. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

Her eyes were blue. Very blue. They blinked at him.

Then suddenly, all he could see and feel was pink fluff.

He ripped the blanket off his head and took a step back from the girl. "Okay, I get it, don't get too close."

"Who are you and why are you on my balcony?" Her voice was not as small or high-pitched as her petite frame would suggest. Though it did sound hoarse from lack of sleep.

Chat bowed low, but kept his eyes on the girl, who was now clutching a watering can. Jeez, she seemed to have a never-ending supply of weapons.

"Chat Noir, Protector of Paris, at your service."

She tilted her eyes and squinted at him. He had forgotten that civilians didn't have the same eyesight as he had when transformed.

"I didn't know the Parisian superhero made it a habit to sneak up on young girls in the middle of the night." Suspicion and disbelief tainted her voice.

"Well, to be completely honest, I didn't see you there. I'll tell you a secret: I usually stop on balconies to rest a bit during patrols," he winked, but sobered up a bit as she raised the watering can higher. "Sorry to have bothered you."

She sniffed. He couldn't help but notice the flowery pattern of her pajamas. "Are you sure you're Chat Noir?"

He couldn't help it. Letting out a loud laugh that reverberated through the quiet Parisian streets, Chat responded, "Absolutely _Purr_ sitive."

Her big blues eyes blinked again. "I've gotta be dreaming. That was terrible."

He placed an offended hand to his heart. "Oh how you wound me, first you damage my gorgeous face, and now striking where it hurts man the most. I'll have you know that my humor is deeply underappreciated in Paris."

She snickered. "Sorry about your face." She deliberately ignored the quip about his humor.

He shrugged. "Sorry for bothering your beauty sleep."

The odd girl shrugged. "Just don't do it again." Then she promptly wrapped herself back into a pink burrito.

* * *

He really hadn't meant to land on her balcony again.

The akuma had made its way near Chloe's school, and he had five minutes before his transformation wore out. Spotting a terrace with a number of potted plants that would provide protection from prying eyes, he made a split-second decision to hide there while Plagg recharged.

He dropped into a bush, assuming that no one would be there.

A loud curse informed him otherwise.

"What. The. Fuck?" Something solid and heavy hit his arm and he stumbled back.

His jaw dropped as he recognized his attacker as the girl he had disturbed a week ago. The first thought he had was how much more awake she looked this time. Her hair had been brushed into two pigtails and she wore a pink shirt under crisp white overall shorts. He mentally made a note of how she only came up to right below his nose.

In her hand was a notebook.

Ah, so that was what had hit him.

"We've gotta stop meeting like this." He smirked as he rubbed the sore spot on his right arm.

"Oh so it really as you last time? I wasn't quite sure if I had hallucinated that or not." She pointed the book at him in an accusing manner. "What are you doing on my balcony again?"

"Well you see," he rubbed his neck nervously, "there was an akuma attack an–"

Her eyes widened and she interrupted, "Oh, that's terrible. Poor akuma."

He tilted his head a bit at her unstandard response in the face of danger, but continued . "I don't know how much you know about my powers, but I used Cataclysm which means–"

"That you only have a couple minutes before you detransform, got it."

He gaped at her, both because of her second interruption and because he had been sure that she wasn't a big superhero fan from her rather lackluster reaction to him. (Not that he was noticing or anything).

She shrugged. "My best friend runs The Papillon Watch. She knows a bit about you."

Ah, the blog that tracked him and the akumas. It was a surprisingly reliable source of information. Chat was impressed.

The girl cocked her eyebrow at him. "You know, you are notoriously hard to get information on. Alya would be freaking out right now."

He didn't mention her lack of 'freaking out'.

Before he could say anything, she turned around and began to walk away. "I'm sure you need to transform and everything," a hand waved lazily behind her, "Alya's always going on and on about how superheroes have to keep civilian identities separate or something so I'll let you do that in peace."

She opened what looked like a trapdoor into the room below and gave him a quick salute. "Go kick that akuma's butt. And if you scare me on my balcony again, I will fucking kick _your_ butt."

She dropped down with a grin, letting the trapdoor close after her.

What an odd girl.

* * *

Marinette peeked out her trapdoor and grinned when she spotted the clear night sky.

Perfect.

She checked to make sure that her bedroom door was closed, before climbing out in her pink nightdress. She took a deep breath, before starting some light music on her phone.

And then, she started dancing.

She wasn't a great dancer by any account. In fact, Alya had often teased her about her lack of rhythm. But dancing was a great stress reliever. Especially under the stars.

Marinette closed her eyes. Happy ukulele and soft English words streamed out her phone, and she bounced on the balls of her feet. Her hair wobbled dangerously in a loose high bun.

She was so absorbed in the music that she completely missed the light thump behind her.

Chat Noir had been patrolling once more, something he tried to do every night, if not every other night, when someone's music had caught his attention. It was late, and the music flitting between the rooftops was definitely not the heavy club music he was used to at this hour.

Curious, he followed it to a rooftop. A rooftop that was slowly becoming rather familiar. A warm feeling spread across his chest as the strange girl he had encountered twice before leaped and twirled to music, which was soft yet upbeat at the same time. Her quiet voice melodiously followed the song.

He could tell that she wasn't a trained dancer, but there was a lightness in her feet that caused him to grin stupidly. Her pink nightgown swished around her, and it was an adorable image.

He landed behind her.

Which he realized was a mistake as she swung her arm back in time for the chorus and hit him squarely in the face.

"OH MY GOD WHO THE FUCK?"

Chat cringed and took a huge step back. The light of the moon, much brighter than the night of their first meeting, shone on both their faces, and Chat swallowed the instance recognition dawned in those blue eyes.

"You…!"She snarled, face flushed with anger. Leaning in, she jabbed a finger towards his face. "Look pretty boy, my balcony isn't your resting place for patrol or whatever it is you superheroes do."

He panicked and said the first thing that came to his mind. "You're definitely not a dancer."

At her continuing glare, he realized his mistake several seconds later. "Fuck! I meant-well, I'm sure you're an amazing, I'm just sure that you're not a professional or anything...Not that that's obvious! I mean it is obvious a little bit, but I really like your dancing okay–"

Her face was slowly evolving into an amused expression and his mind blanked. "–I mean, you're really pretty."

She blinked.

"I-"

She blinked at him again.

Then her face relaxed and she took a step back. "You, Chat Noir, are one odd superhero." She stuck out her hand, "If you're gonna be stalking my balcony more, you might as well know my name. I'm Marinette."

He cautiously took her small hand in his leather covered one, a tiny bit afraid she would punch him. "Um, Chat Noir."

She cocked her eyebrow. "Yeah, you're kind of a big deal around here."

Frozen. That's what he was. This girl standing before him, emanating confidence and sass at a mask-covered stranger, was doing weird things to him. He stammered, "Uh-Am I really?"

She laughed at him, a loud laugh that echoed throughout the late nights of Paris, and Chat knew he was in trouble already.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me Kitty Cat."

* * *

 **AN: So I was bored and wanted to write some marichat** _  
_

 **idk if i'll continue this but if anyone is interested i'll definitely consider it!**

 **(also this was 0% proofread)**


	2. The Princess Who Couldn't Bake

**I was so excited at the feedback that I just had to go and make another chapter! Again barely edited (I'm really busy atm but i have writing this fic) but I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Chat hadn't been sure of what to expect when he hopped onto her balcony the next day. The sun was setting, and it was a school night, so there were plenty of reasons why she wouldn't be out there.

But she was.

Unlike the times before, she actually heard him land. Her head snapped up and she dropped her laptop.

"Chat Noir?!" She blinked up at him.

He awkwardly smiled and reached up to scratch behind his head. "Hi Marinette."

She gaped a little before scooting to one side of the green sofa and patting the empty space next to her.

"I wasn't expecting to see you."

He looked at the spot next to her and a flush creeped up his face. "Sorry, I just thought–I mean yesterday you said–you know, I'll just go…"

Chat turned to leave, but a small hand grabbed his wrist just before he could whip out his baton. "No, stay. I mean, I'm a little confused as to why you're here, but I'm not about to kick you off right now." A smirk ghosted across her lips. "Though I do remember threatening that too last night."

With a surprising amount of strength, she yanked him down next to her. "So tell me Mr. Kitty Cat, what's a guy like you doing here on a night like this?"

Nerves slightly eased, Chat let out a surprised bout of laughter before instantly sobering up. His previous embarrassment returned. "I–uh, well–I don't have a lot of friends–or really anyone I know. And I was feeling bored tonight…" He twisted his fingers together, almost physically pained to admit his lack of a social life in front of this strange, lively girl.

She peered at him with squinted eyes for a second before she smiled. "Well, I'll be your friend. Feel free to drop on by anytime." Marinette paused, as if hesitant, but she shook herself and continued, "Are the people at school mean to you?"

His blush deepened. "I'm homeschooled. My dad is a bit controlling so…"

"What's that like then?"

Chat didn't even have to think about his answer. "Lonely."

"Do you want to go to school?" Marinette tilted her head and looked up at the darkening sky.

"Yes."

With a pause she responded, "Then just tell him. If he genuinely cares, if he wants you to be happy, then he'll understand if you explain it all to him. If you want something, just go for it."

He made a noncommittal noise.

She turned her attention back to him. "Being all by yourself all the time doesn't seem fun."

He snorted and sunk deeper into the couch. It was soft and cushiony. "It's not."

Marinette sat up straight and jutted her chin into the air. "Well, you can come over whenever you'd like to." A gleam had made its way into her eyes.

She picked up the fallen laptop and placed in his lap. "I need help on my homework anyway."

Chat grinned at her.

* * *

The next day, he stood outside his father's office, a neatly scribbled speech clutched in his left hand. Marinette was right.

If he wanted something, he had to go and get it.

His right hand raised to knock on the thick polished wood.

* * *

Marinette never really knew when to expect the boy superhero. Some nights he showed up and some nights he didn't. And that was that.

So when she went up to water her plants real quick before going to sleep early, she hadn't been too surprised to see him balanced on the railing, watching the rest of the city lights.

"Hey Chat." She went over to him and placed both elbows on the cool metal. He looked down at her and grinned.

"Hey Marinette. Nice shirt."

She looked down at her shirt and yelped, dropping the metal watering can to cover the front. In her plans to return to her room to sleep, she had changed into her pajamas early. She hadn't noticed that she had grabbed the old pink t-shirt that had the word _Princess_ written in large cursive on the front.

"Shut up! This was from years ago!"

His grin grew cheeky. "I think it's rather cute. And true. I mean here I am, a knight in shining armor, and here you are, my princess to save." He blinked after his statement, as if surprised at himself, and looked away hastily. It was too dark for her to see the red creeping up his neck.

Marinette ignored the way he had called her _his_ princess, and slapped his arm. "A, you are nowhere near charming enough to be my knight, and B, who says I need saving. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

Chat looked back at her, an odd fondness glimmering in his cat-like eyes. "Oh I know Princess, I know."

Marinette's heart fluttered and she scowled. She wasn't a goddamn Princess.

* * *

The minute he landed on her balcony, a plate of warm croissants was shoved into his face.

"Figure out which one is the one I made."

Chat took the plate from the girl and sat down. He sniffed and scrutinized each one, before pointing with finality at a croissant hidden underneath all the others. It hadn't been hard to find; it looked a lot more deflated and burnt compared to the rest of the light, fluffy ones on the plate.

"Crap. I thought I was getting better." Marinette pouted, but settled down next to him and snatched one of the (well-made) pastries. "You would think the daughter of two bakers would know how to bake."

Chat gingerly picked up her off-color croissant and let it dangle in front of his face. "It's...not _that_ bad."

"Kitty, you figured it out within seconds." She groaned and flopped back overdramatically, ignoring the cold hardness of the balcony floor. "I still can't believe the first time I brought cookies up, you were able to separate mine from my parents without me even telling you."

Chat set the sad croissant back down on the plate and chose one of the safer options to nibble on.

"Your bakery is quite popular in Paris, any good citizen knows about Tom and Sabine's boulangerie patisserie." He savored the warm, buttery taste of the pastry.

Marinette pouted."I'm such a disappointment. I bet a loaf of bread would bake itself better than I would bake it."

Chat choked and buttery flakes flew out of his mouth. "...I don't think that's physically possible."

He jerked to his left just in time to ignore the hand that went flying in his direction. Unluckily for him, Marinette hadn't lost any of her violent tendencies. Unluckily for her, the damn cat was getting a lot better at predicting her 'spasms'.

She frowned and tried to reach the watering can that sat slightly above where her head was on the floor. After a couple seconds of exertion, she decided it wasn't worth it and dropped her hand down onto her stomach and closed her eyes.

Chat stared down at the odd girl and tried to ignore the flutter in his chest. "Do you ever think it's weird that a superhero stops by to hang out with you?"

Marinette lazily cracked open a blue eye. "Not really. I mean, you're still a regular teen under all that kinky leather aren't' you?" Both her eyes suddenly flew wide open and she scrambled up and knocked both his shoulders back with her hands. "You ARE a teenager right? RIGHT?"

He laughed, and pulled her off of him. "Yes, I am. I'm sixteen."

"Oh, phew, THAT would've been weird." She settled back down. "I'm sixteen in a couple weeks."

"Really? You look a lot smaller than that." He laughed again as he rolled out of her way.

"Rude! You take that back! I am telling you now, I am a perfectly normal height you freakish leather beanstalk!" They were running around her balcony now, Chat taking advantage of the various large plants placed randomly around them.

"Meowch! I shouldn't have to suffer all this abuse. I mean, you've tried to suffocate me with a blanket, you insult my sense of humor, I'm the target of all your verbal abuse, you try and poison me with those badly disguised pastries...If I didn't know better, I'd say this was all an assassination plot." Chat grinned as her face grew even redder with anger and he darted around a particularly big pot of flowers.

"Yeah, well, we wouldn't be here if you weren't constantly invading my privacy! This is MY balcony, you can't insult me on my own balcony!"

Chat waited for Marinette to try and jump around the plant, but she didn't come. Her footsteps had ceased, and he peered around the bush he had been hiding behind. That was weird…

 _WHAM!_

He nearly fell onto the ground as Marinette pounced onto his back from behind, wrapping her legs and arms around him.

Chat tried to shake her off, but she just held tighter, thighs squeezing around his waist and arms nearly choking him. The front of her chest was squished against his and–

 _No, Bad Chat_. He shook the thought away.

Marinette was laughing, her breath tickling his ears as she let her head brush against his ears. "Come on Kitty Cat, I win!"

After several seconds of shaking to no avail, Chat plopped onto the floor. Marinette, surprised, fell off.

"Okay, okay, Princess you win! But I actually had something to tell you before you attacked me so rudely."

She scooted around, not leaving the floor, and poked his thigh. "My baking is not a form of attacking! For the last time, I was not trying to poison you!"

"Not what I was talking about, but yes, your baking is dangerous," he rolled his eyes when she poked him again. "I came here cause I had something important to tell you!"

She ceased her poking and stared up at him with curiosity.

Chat took a deep breath and let out a wide smile. "I took your advice and talked to my dad! He's going to let me go to public school! Of course, there's some rules, but Marinette I'm so excited."

The girl next to him squealed loudly and scrambled into a sitting position to hug him. "I'm so happy for you! When do you start?"

"Next Monday." He wondered if she would ask him where he would be going to school.

Instead, she rested her chin on his shoulder. "You're still going to help me with my homework right? Even though you have your own?"

He leaned his head against her dark hair. "Of course."

Maybe Marinette attended the same school.

Maybe they could be friends outside of his suit.

Maybe.

* * *

 **Let me know your thoughts in a review! Thanks for reading**


	3. School and Spoiled Rich Kids

**So real quick, I actually posted this chapter 2 weeks ago on ao3 and completely forgot to put it here**. **Anyway, this chapter is a little less fluff a little more plot, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The night before his first day at school, Adrien cracked open his window and peered out into the night sky.

Now that it was the middle of fall, the air that entered his room was chilly enough to cause him to shiver. He twisted the silver ring anxiously as he thought about the next day.

His entire life, he had been alone. His mother and father had always been busy with their fashion empire, and when his mother disappeared two years ago, the space between him and his father had increased even more. Of course, his one childhood friend, Chloe, had come over all the time to play as kids, but now she had other friends in higher and more convenient places.

When the black jewelry box had first appeared in his room, Adrien had thought it a blessing. He still did. It brought him freedom in a life controlled by schedules and strict rules.

He could be unrestrained as he ran on the rooftops of Paris. No one could tell him what to do.

But it was still lonely.

It felt like just him against the world, with no one to rely on and no one to help him with the akumas that Hawkmoth continued to send out.

The metal of the ring felt cold against his skin. There wasn't much _fun_ left in being a superhero. There had been a whole lot more responsibilities than he had expected, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. No one to share the responsibility with, no one to celebrate his victories with, no one to enjoy the freedom with. Plagg had once told him that throughout history, Chat Noirs had had partners in superhero-ing, but as of right now, he saw no one.

Maybe that's why he enjoyed hanging out with Marinette so much. The quirky, fiery, girl made things _fun_.

He finally had a friend that he had made on his own. A friend that liked him because of his personality and character.

"You done thinking about your princess?" Plagg zoomed towards him and hit his face (not-so-lightly). "You do have school tomorrow."

"I am so not thinking about her," he lied.

Burying his face in his arms, Adrien closed the windows and went to prepare for bed.

* * *

Marinette was pleasantly surprised when she woke up before the multiple alarms she usually set for school. The sun was shining and she could hear the birds chirping above her as she snuggled a little longer in the fluffy pink comforter.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom, towel drying her hair. She wasn't sure why, but she had a good feeling about today.

She decided to wear leggings, a soft pink sweater, and a pair of grey ankle boots to match the sunny fall vibes. Topping it off with a grey scarf, Marinette tied her hair into two pigtails and grabbed her bag before descending the stairs into the bakery.

"Good Morning!" She called out as she grabbed the croissants and thermos her parents had left out for her.

"Morning sweets." Sabine Cheng smiled at her from her spot at the register, where customers were already paying to get their morning fix of caffeine and carbs. "You're up early today."

Marinette glanced at the clock. Huh. She was never down in the bakery this early. She shrugged and gave her mom a hug. "I'm just feeling really good today."

Sabine hugged her back before letting go to return to the line of customers. "Have fun at school dear. Oh, also, your father and I have that catering event this evening, but Caleb isn't available to come in. Could you cover for us? It should only be a couple hours before closing time."

"I'm catching a movie with Alya later, but I should be back way before you guys go, so that's fine," She peeked around the corner where her father was rushing around in the kitchen, "Tell Papa I said bye and that I love him."

With that, she pushed the door of the bakery open, the silver bell jingling pleasantly. The cold fall air brushed against her cheeks, and she snuggled deeper into the scarf wrapped around her neck. Unscrewing the thermos, she took a tentative sip of the hot chocolate inside, careful not to burn her tongue.

It really was such a nice day. There was barely a cloud in sight, and she was leisurely on her way to school, instead of running to get to class before the final bell.

She entered the classroom fifteen minutes early, spotting Alya immediately. Her best friend gave her a look of disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done with my Marinette?"

Marinette shoved her lightly and offered her a croissant. "Alya..."

Alya took her glasses off and wiped them with her shirt, before putting them back on, pretending to squint at Marinette. "Well, you're here before first bell, seemingly put together, on a Monday morning, _smiling_ , so I repeat: who are you and what have you done with my girl?" A grin cracked through her teasing and she took the offered pastry.

"Oh, shut up," Marinette rolled her eyes and slid into her seat, "It's just been a good morning that's all." She took out her notebook and tablet.

"Uh-huh…" Alya faced her with a raised eyebrow, a smug expression dancing on her lips. "So it has nothing to do with the mystery boy you still refuse to tell me about!"

"What?! No!" Marinette yelped, _at least not this time_ , she thought, an unwanted blush lightly dusting her cheeks. "And anyway, I keep telling you, we're barely friends. I just enjoy his company is all."

But as she turned away from her smirking and far-too-satisfied-for-her-own-good best friend, her thoughts returned to Chat Noir.

 _He's starting school today_ , she suddenly realized with a start, nearly knocking her tablet off the table.

A warm smile made its way onto her face as she thought about the normal kid who she had met under a superhero guise. _I hope he has a good first day_.

* * *

Adrien was not having a good first day.

Plagg had accidentally turned his alarm off the night prior when the kwami had been playing games on his phone. Adrien hadn't even had time to yell at the cat god because he had been too busy rushing about after Nathalie had knocked on his door to get him up. Then, after grabbing a single piece of toast from the kitchen staff for breakfast, him and Gorilla had been stuck in traffic for twenty minutes.

Now, he stood before the headmaster, nervously fidgeting in the awkward silence. The old, owlish-looking man scanned his papers. "Well, I suppose everything is in order."

Adrien bit his lip as he listened to the slow and gravely voice of the man, who simply peered at him from behind a pair of reading glasses. "I hope you understand, Mr. Agreste, without meaning disrespect of course, that there will be no special treatment regardless of who your father is." frowned a bit, and used a handkerchief to wipe his forehead. The next part was more hesitant, "But, uh, if you do run into any sort of–complication–do not hesitate to come to administration."

With a slightly pinched look, the aged headmaster continued, "The school doesn't want any sort of trouble."

The air grew tense and Adrien reached up and scratched his neck. "Oh, uh, thank you sir. I don't plan of causing any sort of trouble, sir."

"Then I'll send you on your way. You should be in 's homeroom, which is in room thirty-nine. Have a nice day."

With the obvious dismissal, Adrien smiled awkwardly and grabbed his bag. "You too sir. Thank you."

 _Thirty-nine_. _Room thirty-nine._

Adrien made his way onto the third floor and slowly began counting the rooms. As his steps echoed in the currently empty halls, he was reminded of his house.

 _Thirty-five...Thirty-seven...Thirty-nine!_

There it was.

A simple wooden door with a two bronze numbers nailed slightly off-center.

Nothing to be scared of. It was just a door.

Yet Adrien didn't move.

It was just a door.

"Kid, you okay?"

Plagg popped out of the outer pocket of his bag, a dusting of cheese evident on his whiskers. "You've been standing out here for five minutes."

"I–," Adrien placed a shaky hand on the brass knob, "It's just that when I open the door, I won't be able to take it back. I-I've never done this before. I don't really interact with people without Father or Nathalie present."

"Well, new is good isn't it? Change is good. You'll be fine kid." Plagg raised an eyebrow and smirked, the closest look to affection that he had ever given Adrien. "It'll be fine."

Adrien nodded and opened the door.

The cacophony of overlapping voices instantly hushed as he felt multiple pairs of eyes turn towards him at once. Swallowing, he ignored their whispers and stares and focused his attention on the tall red-headed woman at the front of the classroom.

"Adrichou!" His eyes snapped to the familiar blonde girl in the second row, whom he instantly recognized as his childhood friend. Chloe made to leave her seat, but the teacher cleared her throat and gave the affronted girl a pointed look. Chloe huffed and subtly nudged the girl next to her.

Huh. Chloe Bourgeois in his class. Who would have thought. The two hadn't properly spent time together since they were preteens. He suspected that he hadn't been quite enough for the social climbing girl.

"You must be Adrien Agreste! I'm Ms. Bustier." His attention was once more drawn to the teacher as the hushed voices rose a little at the mention of his last name. His teacher strode over and placed a hand on his shoulder as she looked at the murmuring kids. "Everyone, Adrien will be joining us for the rest of this year. I hope everyone here will do their best to make him feel welcome!"

She gave him a warm smile and nodded to an empty desk in the front row. The bespectacled boy in the seat next to it gave him a curious, but not unfriendly look. "You can take the desk next to Nino. We're currently debating the meaning of some of Shakespeare's more complicated wordplays; Nino can explain more."

His barely registered her words though; his vision was filled solely with the blue-eyed girl that sat behind the empty seat.

Marinette.

A giddy feeling rose up in his chest as he realized that his _friend, his first real friend_ , was in his class too! But apprehension soon took over as those blue eyes continued to stare at him without any recognition. His nervous smile felt frozen to his face.

Realizing that Ms. Bustier was expecting him to move, Adrien gripped the strap of his designer bag tightly, and schooled his face into a professional mask of calmness. He could do this. He could _so_ do this.

The boy that Ms. Bustier had called Nino grinned up at him and stuck his hand out. "Mr. Celebrity! What a pleasant surprise to see you in our humble little classroom. Chloe B actually talks a lot about you, and here you are! Nino Lahiffe at your service." The boy offered him a cheeky grin.

Adrien instantly warmed up to the boy and clasped his hand. "Adrien Agreste, which I guess you know, and uh, yeah, Chloe and I were friends when we were really young." The hairs on the back of his neck stood up slightly; she was behind him(!) at the very moment. He didn't know why he was so nervous. If he and Marinette were easily friends when he was Chat, it shouldn't be too difficult when he was Adrien.

"Well, we're talking about these expressions from the Shakespeare unit we just did, which boy are you lucky you missed that!" Nino pointed at the worksheet that was in front of him and launched into a tirade about the difficulties of literature.

Adrien grinned as he glanced at the list of puns that ran down the sheet. This was his element.

Feeling his nerves settle down a bit, Adrien let Nino take the lead in the conversation, but he was soon adding plenty of his own thoughts and jokes. The morning passed by quickly as he began to grasp how a classroom worked. But the whole while, he itched to turn and face the girl behind him.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe you were right this morning," Alya said as she linked her arms with Marinette, the final bell having sounded just seconds before.

"About what?" Marinette jokingly slid her arm out as she finished packing her books away.

"About it being a good day. The sun is still shining, I didn't fail the math exam, Mr. Barro let us out of history early, and we're finally going to go watch that superhero movie that came out last week!" Alya was bouncing on the balls of her feet at this point, impatiently tugging at Marinette to hurry up.

Laughing, Marinette zipped up her bag and let Alya drag her out the classroom.

As they exited the building, they spotted Nino and that new kid chatting on the steps. Alya excitedly waved. "Hey Nino!"

Nino turned around and flashed them a grin. "Hey, it's my two favorite gals! Adrien, meet Alya and Marinette."

The blond smiled at them, and for a second, Marinette saw _something_ in his green eyes as he looked at her. She shook off the odd feeling.

"Nice to meet you," he stuck his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet a bit.

"My boy here has been homeschooled for literally all of his life," Nino threw an arm around the other teen, "So I'm giving him a crash course on how to be cool."

"I don't think you're qualified to teach that course," Marinette teased, jabbing her friend in the shoulder.

Alya grinned, "Poor kid wouldn't know anything about being cool if it wasn't for us."

"I'm just feeling all the love today–"

Nino was interrupted by a whirl of yellow and gold bangles. "Adrien!"

Marinette's smile turned pinched as Chloe Bourgeois butted through the group and dragged the Adrien into a clingy hug. "You didn't tell me you were finally coming to school! And we only have Ms. Bustier's class together, which is a damn shame. Anyway, now that I'm here, you don't need these plebs anymore. Come over with me to the hotel, we simply _must_ catch up." She began dragging Adrien down the steps.

He made a sort of protesting, blubbering noise, but made no move to take his arm back from the grips of the teenage socialite.

Marinette wasn't dumb. Chloe Bourgeois was a flawed individual and an overall terrible human being. But she had made leaps of progress (even if the blonde would never admit it) over the years that Marinette had known her. Her unique disposition and prejudiced view was a definite result of her sheltered and spoiled childhood, something she had no control over.

Chloe wasn't perfect, but it wasn't entirely her fault. However, that didn't mean that Marinette didn't try her best to avoid her. The two girls just didn't mix.

So as she stared at the retreating back of the boy trailing after Chloe, she wondered what sort of person Adrien was..

"How does a new kid like Adrien know Chloe Bourgeois?" She asked Nino. Something about Adrien had seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

It wasn't Nino who answered, but instead Alya, who shoved her phone's screen into Marinette's face. "Um, Earth to Mari? He's Gabriel Agreste's only son, model extraordinaire, set to inherit a fashion empire? I would think you would've known. Everyone else did." The iPhone displayed a black and white photo of Adrien, looking cool, composed, and handsome, as opposed to the nervous, fidgeting kid that had stood before them moments prior.

Marinette shrugged. "I don't pay attention to the models or celebrities, only the clothes. But that explains how he's in Chloe's little social circle."

Alya nodded, "Rich kids all know each other. It's inevitable that Chloe and Adrien would, and from the looks of it, they do seem all buddy buddy."

Nino opened his mouth to protest, but Marinette didn't notice his discomfort. "Better to stay away then. They're from a different world than us, and mixing with stuck up kids like them would only cause trouble."

Alya re-linked their arms. "As always, you're right. Well, we better catch that movie now. See ya later Nino! Hope pretty boy doesn't cause you too much trouble. Sorry you were stuck showing him around."

With that, the two girls waved goodbye and made their way down the steps.

Nino frowned.

Adrien had lived a privileged life, sure, but it had resulted in a naive and sheltered boy, not a spoiled and prejudiced one. At least, that's what the boy thought after spending most of the day with the new kid.

He hoped his two friends wouldn't let their own prejudices blind them too.

* * *

 **As I said earlier, I posted this on ao3 awhile ago, but the fourth chapter might be a little late in the coming since my family has been going through a rough time lately. Everything is fine now, it just might take a little longer for me to update.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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